Searching for positives

Finding positives isn’t as easy as it sounds when your franchise player left town. I haven’t been very positive on the Raptors this season, because I don’t think they will be very good. But there are still some positive signs.

1) Youth. With the exception of Reggie Evans, they don’t have a player who is over 30 in their main rotation. DeRozan, Weems, Kleiza, Bargnani, Ed Davis, Julian Wright and Amir Johnson are all under the age of 25. Jack has been around for a while, and he is only 26. Barbosa is 27 and Calderon is only 29. So even if they do struggle, it’s better to struggle with young players than veterans.

2) Athleticism. They may not be very good in most nights, but it’s not because of their athleticism, which was lacking in previous years. Weems, DeRozan, Johnson, Davis, Wright are all very good athletes. In theory, the defense should be better because of it (well it can’t get much worse).

3) Work ethics. I will give credit to certain players on this team. They work hard. DeRozan, Weems and Davis have all been working out before the season starts. So did Amir and Jarret Jack. Hard work usually pays off, especially if you have talent. These guys do have some talent.

4) Cap situation. The Raptors do have some cap room to play with in a season or two. If Barbosa do opt out, they will have even more. Of course they still have a huge exception if they choose to use it. So it’s not like the Raptors are capped out and can’t be flexible. They have some flexibility here.

5 Responses to “Searching for positives”

[…] New Leisure Blog Work ethics. I will give credit to certain players on this team. They work hard. DeRozan, Weems and Davis have all been working out before the season starts. So did Amir and Jarret Jack. Hard work usually pays off, especially if you have talent. These guys do have some talent. […]

[…] New Leisure Blog Work ethics. I will give credit to certain players on this team. They work hard. DeRozan, Weems and Davis have all been working out before the season starts. So did Amir and Jarret Jack. Hard work usually pays off, especially if you have talent. These guys do have some talent. […]

Nice article man! I think that there are a lot of issues surrounding the Raptors that go deeper than not having a star/lead player. Colangelo attempted to put together a contending team last year and failed, however he doesn’t seem to be able to accept the fact that the Raptors do not have the pieces to make a winning team now, yet he still tries to bring in 2nd and 3rd tier talent (i.e. Kleiza and re-signing Amir Johnson). In the end the Raptors are going to need to rebuild, but who knows when that is going to happen. Also, you think you could check out my blog cuz i really wanna hear what you have tos ay about it. http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/2010/10/03/back-to-the-future/

I think in a funny way, Colangelo is rebuilding. He won’t say those words, because he is such a competitive person. When you think about it, the Raptors are trying to trade their worse contracts such as Calderon’s and already traded one with Turkoglu. There is no doubt that this team will not be any good. So a high draft pick will definitely be there for the taking, and they do have some cap room this year and next if they want to use it. In the NBA, you can turn the team around rather quickly if you have some luck and flexibility.

I think that there are a lot of issues surrounding the Raptors that go deeper than not having a star/lead player. Colangelo attempted to put together a contending team last year and failed, however he doesn’t seem to be able to accept the fact that the Raptors do not have the pieces to make a winning team now, yet he still tries to bring in 2nd and 3rd tier talent